Bobbin-holder



BOBBlN-HOLDER Goifredo Fusaroli, Milan, Italy, .assignor to S. A. M. P. R. E.-Soc. Az. Meccanica Precisione, Milan, Italy In the textile industry the need is often felt of using bobbin holders which not only areof easyand economical construction, but also are safe in operation and, above all, are capable of convenient. dismantling for replacement of worn or broken parts or for mere cleaning operations. g

All the bobbin holders hitherto known suifer from the main disadvantage that the bearing members, e..g. ball bearings, located at the top of the device and cooperating with a bearing head or similar contrivance affixed to a creel board or other fixed part, are, after a shortperiod of operation, locked by dust, dirt or down which are frequently present in the textile factories.

The provision of dust caps has been, and still is, a conventional expedient for reducing the above described drawback, but is quite unable to annul it: v as a matter of fact, the impossibility of. overcoming the troubles in operation derives from the very constructional features of the bobbin holders themselves. The bobbin holders must be not only rotatable about, but also must be capable of-oscillating, more or less, about a bearing head, which latter generally offers to rolling members (ball bearings or the like) a hemispherical seat of suitably selected radius. Thus, a clearance should be provided between the stern of the bearing head and the top opening of the casing which houses the bearing member: this nitcd States Patent clearance is nothing but an open passageway to dirt and 11:

dust. Consequently, the entrance of foreign matters liable to hinder the satisfactory operation of the mechanism is practically unavoidable.

Many of the bobbin holders of the prior and contemporary art provide the bearing member enclosed, in a non-removable way, in the cylindrical casing or body of the bobbin holder: by so doing, the entrance of foreign matter is in no wise impeded, and, in addition, it is impossible, or nearly so, to clean the bearing member conveniently or to substitute parts needing replacing. Thus it is often necessary to dispose of the bobbin holder, as the breakage or sticking of a non-removable part occurs.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a bobbin holder the dismantling of which is easy to perform and allows the rapid replacement of worn or broken part and the removal of the bearing member whenever this is necessary for clearing of replacement. A preferred embodiment of the invention is hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a lengthwise sectional view of the bobbin holder of the invention showing the several component parts, when the catch is in the position apt to hold a bobbin;

Fig. 2 is another lengthwise sectional view of the same bobbin holder, spaced 90 apart from the position shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 shows in detail the bearing member removed from the bobbin holder casing.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 it appears that the bobbin holder of the invention essential- 2 l 1y comprises two cylindrical casings, viz. an upper casing 1 and a lower casing 2.

The upper casing 1 is areceptacle in which the bearing member B is slidably housed and which alsocontains a double U shaped-leaf spring 9 provided with an with an eye 2 in correspondence to the bend, the ends of said spring being outwardly curled and engaging. two vhorizontal rectangular slots provided, in diametrically opposed positions, .in the wall of the casing 1.: A bearing head 4, which has a screw-threaded stem and offers a hemispherical seat to the bearing member B, is "suitably affixed to a creel board (not shown): a dust cap D-hasa through-hole for allowing the passa'geof the stem of the bearing head. Upon the ends of the double-U shaped leaf spring 9 which, as aforesaid, engages the two diametrically opposed slots 11, the separator disk 19 rests. Disk 19 is an arrester the function of which is to impede the falling down of'the bearing member B and of. the bearing head 4 as well. I 1

The lower casing 2, slidable within casing 1 as; shown in the figures, has an inner circumferential abutment l4z this latter serves to give a 'restingfiseat to the helical return spring 18.

Towards the lower end, casing 2 has two diametrically opposed vertical rectangular slots S: they permit the rotation of an hexagonal catch 16 which is pivoted about a diametral axis of casing 2, said axisbeing, of course, set apart from the vertical plane of symmetry of the slots. Casing 2, moreover, contains a hairpin-shaped leaf spring 10, threaded into the eye 2 of the double-U shaped leaf spring 9: a small tooth 15 is formed on one prong of spring 10 and far from the etid thereof,'and serves to actuate the catch 16.1 I

The lower end of casing 2 is open: spring 10has its 'ends 12 curleda'nd the curled ends 12'engage theedge of the opening of casing 22 the main function 'of-this (spring 14} is to keep the two casings 1 and-z assembled; :thus contributing to actually 'supporting th'e' weight of the-bobbin, transmitted thereto by the'catch 16via--casing 2. 1

'The casing 2, finally, is fitted with a circumferential outer ring 17, on the same plane of the inner abutment 14: against ring 17 the end of a bobbin is pushed to operate the mechanism.

Fig. 3 shows in detail the bearing member B: it essentially consists of a bush 3 which can slide within the upper casing 1. This sliding movement is limited, on the lower side, by the arrester or separator disc 19, and, on the upper side, by the inwardly curled edge of casing 1. Withinbush 3, between the two guides 6-6, the balls 7 are retained. The lower one of the two guides 66 cooperates with the hemispherical seat formed on the bearing head 4.

A resilient ring 5 holds the balls and their guides in correct location and, at the same time, allows to remove the ball bearing for cleaning or replacement whenever necessary.

1 The operation of the device now described is as folows:

Suppose the device be afiixed to a creel board or other fixed part and that the catch be in disengaged position, i. e. the teeth thereof do not protrude outwardly.

A bobbin (not shown) is now threaded on casing 2 until the bobbin end contacts ring 17: by a quick upward push imparted to the bobbin, casing 2 slides upwardly into casing 1 and the return spring 18 is compressed. During such movement of casing 2, the spring 10 remains stationary and its tooth 15 engages catch 16, which moves with casing 2 relative to spring 10, thereby to turn catch 16 until the points thereof project from the body of casing 2.

The bobbin is now retained on casing 2, and, on rein their previous mutual positions, while spring again engages the lower end edge of casing 2.

7 To remove the bobbin, a quiclc upward push, exactly as before, causes the disengagementof the catch, the teeth of which enterthe casing 2; thebobbin is now 'free and can be unthreadedzreturn spring 18 acts again leasing-the latter, return spring 18 resets casings 1 and 2 and the bobbin holder is ready to receive another bobbin. To disassemblethe bobbin holder, for cleaning purposes or for replacing ,broken parts, the procedure is the following.

, ,Push',withj the thumbs the curled ends of spring 10 inwardly: it is possible now to unthread casing 2. Re-

move helical spring '18, and leaf spring 10, by unthreading lit from eye e of spring 9. Bypushing the ends of spring 9 inwardly, "spring 9 disengages from the slots 11 fand canjbeextracted. It is now possible,if the bearing described above in detail is followed, but, obviously, the

order of the operations is to be reversed.

It is .no more necessary to insist upon the advantages afiorded by the bo bbin holder ofthe invention: its'simple and economic constructional features and the ease of dismantling and replacement of individual parts are suffi- 'cient to actually proving such advantages.

Furthermore, it is possible to conveniently replace A springs '9 and 10 without being compelled to remove the bobbinholder from the creel board to which it is afiixed.

A bobbin holder comprising upper and lower hollow eylindricalbodies in axially telescopic engagement with each other, a removable bearing member in said upper body including' a bushing axially slidable in said upper body and having, upper and lower guides therein and a series 10f balls retainedbetwe en said guides, a bearing head engaging said lower guide and extending axially upward out of said bushing and upper body for attachment to a creel board, a resilient retaining ring releasably holda 4 ing said guides and balls within said bushing, a generally U-shaped leaf spring having outwardly bent free ends and an eye at the bight thereof, said upper cylindrical body 7 having diametrically opposed openings therein in which said free ends of the leaf spring releasably engage to anchor the latter within said upper body, a separator disk in said upper body below said bearing member and resting on said outwardly bent free ends of the leaf spring, ,said lower Cylindrical body having an annular inner abutment and an annular outer ring 'at the same axial location and two diametrically opposed axially elongated slots, a hexagonal catch mounted within said lower body for rotation about a diametrically extending axis perpendicular to the plane extending through said slots so that said catch. can turn between an inoperative position wholly within said lower body and an operative position in which points on said catch project radially out of said slots for retaining a bobbin on said lower body against said outer ringfa hairpin-shaped leaf spring suspended, at its bight, from said eye of the U-shaped leaf spring, saidthairpin-shaped leaf spring having outwardly bent free ends which are'resiliently urged apart to en gage the lower end edge of said lower cylindrical body and thereby releasably hold the latter in assembled relationship with said upper body and a tooth projecting inwardly from one of the legs of the hairpin-shaped leaf spring at a substantial distance from the related free end, to. actuate said catch between said operative and inoperative positions in response to movement of said catch with said lower body relative to said hairpin-shaped leaf spring, and a helical return spring bearing, at its opposite ends, against said annular inner abutment and said U-shaped leaf spring, respectively, to urge said lower body axially away from said upper body and into engagement, at its lower end edge, with said free ends of the hairpin shaped leaf spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,095,518 Casablancas Oct. 12, 1937 2,554,148 Kenneford May 22, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 575,743 Great Britain Mar. 4, 1946 

